


A Shift In The Night

by Edge_of_Clairvoyance



Series: The Older Brother Verse [10]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Brotherly Affection, Brotherly Love, Drunk John Winchester, Family Drama, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, POV Sam Winchester, Pre-Series Dean Winchester, Pre-Series John Winchester, Pre-Series Sam Winchester, Protective Siblings, Young Dean Winchester, Young Sam Winchester
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-17 08:14:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29468532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Edge_of_Clairvoyance/pseuds/Edge_of_Clairvoyance
Summary: "Wake up, Dean. C'mon, buddy.""Connor, wha-""Just go in the bathroom. Keep quiet. Keep Sam quiet. Get me?"Sam can clearly hear Daddy's shouting from outside the bathroom, and his heavy footsteps as he walks across the motel room.
Relationships: Dean Winchester & Original Winchester Character(s), Dean Winchester & Sam Winchester, John Winchester & Original Winchester Character(s), Sam Winchester & Original Winchester Character(s)
Series: The Older Brother Verse [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1065803
Comments: 27
Kudos: 49





	A Shift In The Night

**Author's Note:**

> The story contains implied/referenced child abuse. Nothing happens "on screen", but if you're still worried it might bother you, please don't read. Also, lots of swearing.
> 
> I strongly recommend you read [Beneath Your Wings](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15178313) before reading this story, as it will introduce you to this AU.
> 
>  **Tons of thanks** to Script Doctor, [happy_to_be_here](https://archiveofourown.org/users/happy_to_be_here), [ToscaRossetti](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToscaRossetti/pseuds/ToscaRossetti), and [alexofthegarden](https://archiveofourown.org/users/alexofthegarden/pseuds/alexofthegarden)  
> for all the support, feedback and beta!

"Wake up, Dean. Wake up, c'mon, buddy."

"Connor, wha-"

"Where the fuck is my damned scotch?!"

The voices and the noises that have been seeping into Sam's dream, become louder.

"Get up, Dean. Come with me, I've got Sammy."

Sam is being jostled all of a sudden, and the warmth of the duvet is replaced with shockingly cold air.

"Where is it, boy? Did you let goddamned housekeeping in the room?!"

Something crashes heavily, and Sam cringes, the remnants of his dream shredded and forgotten.

"Connie-"

"Just go in the bathroom, Dean."

There's light hitting Sam's closed eyes - not strong like the sun in the middle of the day, but still enough for Sam to want to shy away from it. His head turns on its own, looking to bury his face somewhere. He tries to cuddle into whoever is carrying him, except he's being handed over to somebody else and loses his bearing for a moment, grabbing onto the new person on instinct.

"Keep quiet. Keep Sam quiet. Get me?"

"Yeah, Connor."

There's a sound of a door closing, and the raised voices are somewhat less loud now, though not by much.

"It's alright, Sammy."

He's still only half awake, but he recognizes Dean's voice; he's not with some stranger, and the anxiety that has started to poke at his stomach quickly drains away.

"I'll just get us comfy, okay?"

Sam holds onto Dean as his brother moves about, and then he feels Dean crouching. Sam is jostled some more and finally is settled onto Dean's lap with Dean seated on the floor leaning against the side of the tub. Sam waits for a minute longer, but there is no more movement, and when Sam shifts to better burrow himself into his brother's chest, Dean's arms wrap around him. Sam usually likes it when Dean does that, but right now Dean's thin arms aren't enough to keep him warm and a little whine escapes his throat.

"Shhh, everything's alright. We'll get you back to bed soon."

He wants to sleep, he's so tired, but it's cold and the light is annoying, and he can't fall asleep again. He whines some more.

"Hush, Sammy."

Dean is rocking him gently. It's nice, and it calms Sam a little bit, but he still needs something more. He releases one hand from its grip on Dean's pajama shirt to sneak a thumb into his mouth, even though he's already five and too old for that.

He absently expects Dean to scold him or move his hand away from his mouth like he and Connor do if Sam forgets he's a big boy who isn't supposed to be sucking his thumb, but Dean just keeps rocking him and says nothing.

"Where the fuck is it?!"

"Dad, c'mon, just calm down-"

"Don't you fuckin' tell me to calm down, boy!"

"Sorry, sorry. You're scaring the kids-"

"They have no fuckin' reason to get scared if they weren't the ones to hide the damned thing in the first place!"

The doorjamb of the bathroom is a little crooked and the door won't shut all the way. It didn't bother Sam before, because he isn't supposed to lock himself in the bathroom anyway, and he knows not to come in when Dean or Connor or Daddy are there. But now, because of that door, he can clearly hear Daddy's shouting from outside, and his heavy footsteps as he walks across the motel room.

"You already drank that one, Dad."

"Don't make a fool outta me, I know how much I had."

The footsteps move away, and kitchenette cabinet doors start banging. Sam shifts so he can hold onto Dean's shirt with both hands while still keeping the thumb in his mouth. Dean's fingers card through his hair.

"How 'bout I make you some coffee-"

"It's the middle of the fuckin' _night_ , Connor, what the fuck are ya talkin' about?!"

"Shouldn't be drinking in the middle of the fuckin' night, either," Dean mumbles.

Sam wants to giggle because Dean said a bad word, but he can't even manage a smile. A loud smash of breaking glass makes both of them wince.

"Damn it! Where's the damned scotch?!"

"Dad, you had enough to drink already, why don't you-"

Sam whimpers when another loud crash pierces the air. Dean holds him tighter, bringing his knees a little way up so Sam is nestled even deeper in his lap.

"It'll be enough when _I_ say it's enough! Who's talking outta your mouth? Bobby? Jim? They haven't been in the field for years, haven't seen what I'm seeing every. Goddamned. _Day_. So they better not be filling your head with shit about your old man, because it's none of their fuckin' business!"

"I haven't talked to them, promise, Dad. Please, just calm down-"

"Didn't I tell you not to tell me to calm down?!"

"Yes, sir, I'm sorry."

The air in the bathroom is cold and Sam's body is shivering despite his flannel pajamas and being snuggled against Dean. He can feel Dean shivering a little too.

"Is it in one of the bags? Is that where you hid it?"

"I didn't hide it. It's already gone."

There are different noises now - thumps and scrapes and a zipper being pulled violently. Then other sounds, soft pats and occasionally a thud or a clank.

"He's gonna mess up my stuff and I'm gonna hafta fold the clothes all over again," Dean grumbles.

"Dad, here."

"I told you I don't want no fucking coffee, Connor!"

"There's no booze in the kids' duffels."

"I'll be the judge of that."

As the noises continue, Sam remembers his new toy - a wind-up bunny Connor had found for him at a dollar store.

Dean feels him squirming. "You okay, Sammy?"

"My bunny, Daddy's gonna break 'im," the tears are already creeping into his eyes.

Dean pats the back of his head. "Don't worry, I'll fix it for you if it breaks."

Dean already knows how to put a gun together, and Daddy is teaching him about Baby's engine. A wind-up toy can't be more complicated than that to fix, can it? Sam nods into Dean's shoulder and Dean leans his cheek against the side of Sam's head.

"Please have some coffee, Dad."

"I don't need any goddamned fucking coffee! You know how many people that rugaru had killed? Eleven. _Eleven_ , Connor. You wanna know how I know? Because it left their fucking _limbs_ in its hideout, and I had to sort through them to do a mix-n-match. How's coffee gonna fuckin' help me forget about _that_?!"

Sam doesn't know what a rugaru is, but he doesn't like Daddy talking about it killing people. He doesn't like Daddy's voice when he does, either. The tears that had already started stinging in his eyes at the thought of his bunny are now spilling over his cheeks.

Dean hears him sniffling and rubs his back. "It's okay, it's okay, I've got you. It's okay."

The heavy footsteps are turning toward the bathroom now, and Dean's hand freezes for a moment on Sam's back before resuming the slow rubbing.

"Gonna take a look in the bathroom."

"That was the first place you looked, it's not there. It's not anywhere."

"Gonna look again."

There are lighter footsteps hurrying in the bathroom's direction.

"Don't go in there."

"Get outta my fucking way."

"No."

Daddy and Connor's voices are just outside the crooked door. Sam can feel Dean tense; he isn't rubbing Sam's back anymore, and his arms clutch around him like a steel cage. Sam wants to squirm away but doesn't.

"Move, Connor."

"No. There are no damned bottles in the bathroom. There are no more damned bottles anywhere in the room."

"I said move."

"And I said no."

There's a sound - it's a bit like the sound of a whip Sam knows from the Westerns Dean likes to watch. It's followed by a thud and a grunt, and Dean jolts. Sam grabs onto him, scared of being thrown off of his brother's lap.

"Connor?"

Daddy's voice is different now, like it lost some of its edge.

"Why d'ya get in my damned way? C'mere, sit up."

"I'm fine," Connor's muffled voice sounds like he's coming from the same height of Sam and Dean as they're sitting on the bathroom floor.

"Shoulda moved when I told ya," Daddy's voice is coming from the same height. Are both of them sitting on the floor, too? "C'mere, you're okay."

More rustles behind the door, and another grunt, more like a moan.

"Dad, I'm fine, leave it."

"I'm gonna… get that coffee now. Take it outside."

"Yeah, fresh air, good idea."

Daddy's footsteps are drawing farther away from the bathroom, but they don't sound as heavy and sure as before. Sam can barely hear the room's door open and close, but he doesn't dwell on it, because a moment later the bathroom door swings open.

Sam has to latch onto Dean as his brother struggles to get to his feet from being sat on the floor with Sam on his lap. Before Dean can make it, Connor is kneeling beside them, putting a hand on Dean's shoulder. "Easy, let me get Sammy first."

Sam looks up at his eldest brother. There's a red mark on Connor's cheek that looks like a handprint.

"Connie-" Dean reaches a trembling hand towards Connor's face, but Connor moves his head away.

"I'm okay."

"But I heard-"

"Got knocked into the dresser. Don't worry about it. C'mon, let's get you back to bed."

Connor takes Sam in his arms, and both he and Dean stand up. Sam can feel Connor's movement isn't as smooth as before, when he brought him into the bathroom. He doesn't know what to do about it, so he just hugs Connor's neck and puts his head on his brother's shoulder.

Connor carries him to the bed Sam shares with Dean. The sheets have already cooled, but Connor quickly tucks Sam into the blankets, and Dean slides in beside him from the other side. He brings Sam's wind-up bunny with him; it doesn't seem broken, which is a relief.

Connor smiles at Sam and combs his hair with his fingers. "Were you having a nice dream before we woke you up?"

Sam doesn't remember his dream at all, but he nods, because he thinks Connor would like it if Sam had a nice dream. Connor pats his face and pulls the duvet up a bit more.

"Now close your eyes, and you're gonna go back to that dream in no time."

Sam doesn't even think about it; his hand creeps out of the covers and grabs Connor's sleeve as his brother is about to straighten up.

"Stay," his voice is groggy and he's not sure Connor understands.

But Dean does. Or maybe he just has the same idea. "Stay with us. Please, Connie?"

Connor looks at him, then at Sam. Sam gives him his best puppy-dog eyes, and Connor sighs.

"Yeah, okay. Scoot over."

Sam makes room as Connor climbs into the bed and settles under the blankets. Sam snuggles into his chest and Connor wraps an arm around him. Dean moves closer, reaching to put his own arm over Connor's.

In the warm nest between his two older brothers, coldness and fear and distress melt away, become distant and unreal. Content, Sam closes his eyes and lets sleep take him.

**Author's Note:**

> Like my works? Want to subscribe and get updates on new stories? Make sure you subscribe to the **user** and not the specific work!


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